Macy's Believe Campaign Benefits Make-A-Wish

Macy’s Reno, in conjunction with Macy’s throughout the country, is again sponsoring the annual “Believe” campaign where customers mail letters to Santa at Macy’s to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. New this year, customers mailing their letters in stores can take photos with the campaign’s animated TV stars Virginia, Ollie and others.

This campaign is inspired by the New York Sun’s famous 1897 “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial. Macy’s stores everywhere have letter-writing Santa letterboxes for believers of all ages to write and drop off letters – stamped and addressed to Santa. For each letter received, Macy’s will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish.

On Friday, December 9, the northern Nevada Make A Wish (MAW) will grant wish of a trip to England to a young lady from Carson City who suffers from a type of autoimmune disorder tissue disease. Additional details on this will be announced soon but the presentation will take place at Macy’s Reno in Meadowood Mall that afternoon.

Our local MAW chapter serves the 13 northern Nevada counties. It grants between 25-35 wishes annually. When granting trips, it usually provides the gift a week out so that arrangements are all in place early. The December 9 wish granting will feature a departure to England the next week, which ties in perfectly with Macy’s December 9 National “Believe” Day.

“Macy’s ‘Believe’ campaign has become a beloved holiday tradition for our customers nationwide,” said Martine Reardon, Macy’s executive vice president of marketing. “With their help, we collected more than a million letters last year and donated more than a million dollars for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This year, we hope to inspire even more goodwill and generosity by building on traditions we’ve created in previous seasons and introducing exciting new elements that will make believing all the more fun and interactive for our customers and their families.”

“Macy’s and its customers play an important role in helping the Make-A-Wish Foundation grant wishes that make lives better for wish kids, families, and communities across the country,” said David Williams, president and CEO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. “Every year, the Macy’s ‘Believe’ campaign offers an assortment of ways for people to celebrate the holidays, give to loved ones, and help create life-changing experiences for kids with life-threatening medical conditions in their communities.”

Local individuals—of any age—are encouraged to write letters to Santa and mail them at Macy’s Reno. The more letters received assures that MAW will receive a generous holiday check from Macy’s. Several local letter writing campaigns are underway.

There are a number of new “Believe” elements this year that complement existing programs. These include:

“Macy’s Believe-o-Magic” Augmented Reality Technology For the first time, customers mailing their letters at Macy’s stores can take a photo with the campaign’s animated stars Virginia and Ollie from the animated holiday special “Yes, Virginia.” Using new technology, customers with IOS and select Android smartphones can download an application that allows them to see and interact with the animated characters.

Celebrity Ornament Collection and Tree Auction Macy’s retail stars like Calvin Klein, Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray and 11 others have created special ornaments for the holiday season. Ten percent of the purchase price will benefit Make-A-Wish. These same celebrities have also designed one-of-a-kind Christmas tree and all 14 trees will be on display at Macy’s New York City an online auction is at macys.com/trees, with 100 percent of funds raised benefiting Make-A-Wish.

“Believe” Fan of the WeekNew this season, fans that “like” Macy's on Facebook can upload the “Macy’s Believe-o-Magic” image taken at the in-store “Believe Station” to Macy’s Facebook wall. Each week, fans will have a chance to “like” their favorites and the fan with the most votes will be featured as Macy’s Facebook profile picture! (Rules apply, please see facebook.com/macys for details.)

National Believe Day On Friday, December 9, Macy’s will again celebrate National Believe Day to honor the spirit of the season and inspire kindness and generosity from coast-to-coast. The special day will focus on the season’s message of humanity and charity toward others.

“Yes, Virginia” Animated Special Back by popular demand, CBS will re-air the original animated special, “Yes, Virginia,” based upon the story of 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon’s letter to the editor of the New York Sun in 1897. This will air on CBS at 9 p.m. on National Believe Day, Friday, December 9.

“Believe” Activity Guide (in English or Spanish) Macy’s and Make-A-Wish will again share a downloadable online toolkit to facilitate interest from teachers and schools that would like to use “Believe” as a writing lesson or activity during the holiday season. The toolkit, which includes an updated letter-writing template to allow for more interactivity and design, coloring sheet and “I Believe” bookmark cut-out, can be found at macys.com/believe. The letters can then be printed and mailed at Macy’s.

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Editor/Reporters Note: This is the link to further information and visuals on the 2011 Macy’s Believe campaign:http://www.magicbulletmedia.com/MNR/MacysBelieve2011/And, here is the link people can go to in order to get more information and resources about starting a letter-writing campaign: http://social.macys.com/believe/?cm_mmc=VanityUrl-_-believe-_-n-_-n#/santapostoffice

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